


Heaven Knows What Comes Next

by ByTheAngell (SomeLittleInfamy)



Series: Shadowhunters Tarot Series [6]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Gen, Justice, Loss, Unethical Experimentation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23612944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeLittleInfamy/pseuds/ByTheAngell
Summary: Raphael always knew his actions were unethical, but he could excuse them to himself so long as the ends justified the means. But when Rosa dies before his experiments are complete, he realizes just how far he's truly fallen as justice comes for him swiftly.
Relationships: Isabelle Lightwood & Raphael Santiago, Raphael Santiago & Heidi McKenzie, Simon Lewis & Raphael Santiago
Series: Shadowhunters Tarot Series [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664110
Kudos: 11
Collections: Shadowhunters Tarot Challenge





	Heaven Knows What Comes Next

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the collection's fourth card: Justice. "A snake coils defensively around their victim’s hand, fangs sinking deep into soft flesh. Blood trickles down from the wound, but we see that the serpent’s victory is short-lived. The hand lets go of the dagger, cutting the snake in two even as it has dealt a painful strike.  
> Simply put, this card is as it says. Justice is coming. You will be held accountable for your actions and expected to take responsibility if you fuck up, whether it’s against someone or something else or yourself. Swift retribution follows unethical behavior. Be prepared for balance to be restored." 
> 
> And (as a bonus challenge I set for myself) focused on [this stunning Shadowhunter's Tarot set's Justice:](https://twitter.com/SERAPHERZ/status/1159791401342652421?s=20) Raphael Santiago

He’s so close he can taste it, but something’s still missing. There has to be something he’s overlooking, an angle he hasn’t considered… just a little more time and he knows he can figure it out. He’s going to get more time with Rosa. The vampires are _all_ going to get the ability to walk in the daylight again. He has Heidi now, and every session with her brings him closer to getting everything he ever wanted. 

And then, in the blink of an eye, it all falls apart. 

The news of Rosa’s passing feels like the end of his own life. It is, in a way - she’s the last connection he had to his family, his childhood friends, the life he knew one day he’d have to leave behind the day he realized what he was now. He fought so hard to keep it, to wear his cross and say the word ‘God’, to be able to go to church with his family despite the pain it caused him. He did _everything_ he could, no matter the personal cost, to not have to give that part of him up. 

He knew it was all a series of temporary fixes even if they worked. He knew he’d lose them all in the end. He knew he’d lose _her_ in the end… 

Still, he thought he had more time. Time to walk in the sunlight with his sister again, time to say goodbye. 

The grief he feels at her loss is more than he can bear, and it’s only the beginning. It’s a domino effect from the moment he got the call about his sister.

Raphael lashes out at Simon, sending away a frightened fledgling looking for guidance. He loses Heidi and suddenly what little control he _thought_ he had left in his life is gone as he finds himself chained to a roof just before sunrise. It seems fitting that he’s to die by the very sunlight he craved to be in so much he sunk to lying to Magnus, the man who’s like a father to him; the thing he wanted so desperately he resorted to the literal _torture_ of one of his own kind who he’s mean to represent and protect as the leader of their clan. 

The momentary relief he feels at Isabelle and Clary’s rescue is gone the moment Izzy confronts him for his crimes. He deserves worse, deep down he knows that he does, but it feels like the final nail in the proverbial coffin. He lost everything but up until this moment he still clung to the hope that he wasn’t beyond redemption. He could explain everything to Magnus, try to help Simon if he isn’t too late… but with the demand that he leave the city immediately, he loses even that. The few people he still cares for, his clan, his city… 

Raphael takes one look at the betrayal on Isabelle’s face and the tears in her eyes and knows with sudden certainty her offer to let him leave at all is more kindness than he deserves.

Raphael picks himself up, leaves the ruin he caused behind without a single apology or explanation or goodbye, and he doesn’t look back. 

**Author's Note:**

> (Find me on [Tumblr](http://bytheangell.tumblr.com) and also on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/By_The_Angell)! <3 )


End file.
